This study was undertaken in a population of chronically malnourished women of Central Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) from June 1987 through February 1988. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of severe food energy deprivation on fetal growth. We also intended to determine whether the level of maternal food energy intake was associated with a reduction of maternal body nutritional stores as measured by triceps skinfold thickness and body mass index (BMI). Women were recruited for this study during their first prenatal visit to the primary health care clinic. Women were interviewed consecutively, 136 of the 457 women interviewed were eligible for enrollment. The enrollment criteria consisted of known gestational age, stable family composition, pregnancy less than 32 weeks~ gestation, and informed consent to participate in a four-day home diet survey. In addition, women consented to have anthropometric measures performed during each of the three prenatal visits and two postpartum visits. Outcome measures included birth weight, maternal BMI, food energy intake as a multiple of basal metabolic rate, observed caloric intake, and maternal triceps skinfold thickness. The important results of this analysis were that low birth weight (<2500 grams) were not an inevitable consequence of chronic maternal malnutrition. We also found that maternal food energy intake was highly correlated with a reduction in maternal body nutritional stores.